I have the fortunate opportunity to teach a six-week course called "Introduction to Comics" at RISD for the Continuing Education program as part of a Comics Certificate program the Rhode Island School of Design has begun there.

Here's the Syllabus:

Course Description: Comic books are pure pop-culture adrenaline, influencing novels, movies, fashion, and even our experiences on the web. But despite their wide influence, comics are incredibly idiosyncratic, with unique characteristics and limitations. So why do some comics have broader appeal than others? And what distinguishes an unremarkable story from a great one? In this course, students investigate the history of comics, examining a broad range of work, from pioneering comic strip artists Rudolph Dirks (The Katzenjammer Kids) and Crockett Johnson (Barnaby) to contemporary practitioners like Jim Woodring (Frank) and Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan). We also study mainstream humor and adventure comics, placing special emphasis on work by individual creators. Moreover, as students learn the basics of scripting and production, we encourage them to develop concepts for their own comics.

Week One: What is a comic? We will be discussing what a comic is and what it isn’t, considering other media that combine words and pictures such as print advertising, children’s books and book illustration. Moving towards a definition of comics, we will begin to understand what comics do that is different from other media. We will also look at how other media sometimes use the techniques of comics to enhance their message and storytelling. Along the way we will see what makes comics so appealing and why it is such a wonderful and concise storytelling medium.

Homework: Read comics. Look for examples of comics in other media, think about the way comics are used in our society.

Week Two: The Language of Comics Now that we have a rough idea of what a comic is and where in the world we can find them, we will try to understand the mechanics of comics. Words and pictures come together, but how? Word balloons, panels, gutters, page layout, telling a story, creating the appearance of movement and time on a static page and how it all comes together will be discussed. The differences between pamphlet comics, newspaper comics, editorial cartoons, and gag panels will be introduced and discussed. We will also begin looking at just what kind of stories can be told: Are their limitations to the kinds of stories and types of genres that comics can tell and approach?

Homework: Read comics. We are going to begin to sketch and roughly layout ideas for comics. Next week bring in ideas for gag panels or editorial cartoons, layout (roughly) a page showing movement and the passage of time. Start planning your comic project.

Week Three: The History of Comics and an Exploration of Genre Since the introduction of Superman and Batman in the late 1930’s Americans view comics as predominantly within the Superhero Genre. But if that’s the case, why are comics also sometimes dismissively referred to as “funny books?” We will look at the history of comics, and consider such creators as Winsor McKay and Richard F. Outcault and their place in the development of comics. We will survey the overwhelmingly vast field of comics through history, touching on the myriad genres it has encompassed. We will spend special time looking at Japanese Manga; its history, its differences from American and European comics, and its distinction mechanics. By the end we should have dipped our toes properly into the ocean of comics and come away with a sense of its vastness.

Homework: Read comics. I will review the work from week two and we will begin to develop and expand our ideas into full-fledged stories, with an eye towards exploding the constraints of traditional genres.

Week Four: The Craft of Comics The nuts and bolts of creating comics will be discussed. Since it all begins with the story we’ll talk about scripting, but there are many techniques for scripting comics, and not all of them involve sitting at a word processor. Then we will look at penciling, inking, lettering, coloring etc. This is the way comics have been done for years, but is it the only way? Artists are now (and for a long time have been) using paint, charcoal, photos, collage, and virtually any technique they can to better realize their visions. The introduction of the computer means that artists can now use Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Flash, as well as countless other programs, some specifically geared towards the creation of comics, to complete their work.

Homework: Read comics. The rough layouts and ideas we’ve been developing can now be expanded upon using the techniques we’ve discussed. With an eye towards experimentation, we’ll begin to tell our stories.

Week Five: The Business of Comics Once you have a comic, how do you get it out in the world to be published? We will look at the submission guidelines of the big companies, and discuss the pros, cons and base economic concerns of the small companies. The economics and viability of self-publishing mini-comics, pamphlet comics and graphic novels will be discussed. We will also be looking at the Internet, trying to see if there are ways to successfully market a project online. With all these considerations in mind we will run into that age old question: Should I tailor my work to the market or follow my vision, the market be damned?

Homework: Read comics. We now have all the tools and ideas we need to really begin to make comics. From all the options presented in the course we now need to narrow our focus to one comic, one idea, and one unified piece.

Week Six: Critiquing Comics In this class we will be looking at both the best and the worst that the world of comics can offer. We will be looking at comics and taking them apart to see how they work, or don’t. We’ll look at panel arrangements that tell the story smoothly and those that serve to confuse. What differentiates a great comic work from the common or inept? Most importantly, how can these insights help us in developing and defining our own work? We’ll take a look the work we’ve done so far, share our ideas, and critique ourselves and each other.

Back when Oz squad first came out I was interviewed by Comics Scene, a magazine put out by the Starlog people. It was a pretty cool interview, and summed up my ideas and attitudes towards comics at the time. I've made all the pages available here.

One of the highest complements you can get is when someone produces a piece of fan art based on one of your works. Chris Reilly and Gus Fink got one from "Tara B." shortly after meeting her at the san Diego Comic-Con, 2006.

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Appearances

SPX 2007

This year's show will be held on October 12th and 13th, 2007, at the Marriott Besthesda North Hotel and Conference Center.
Their first major guest is Jeff Smith, author/writer of the groundbreaking and multiple award winning series Bone as well as the upcoming Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil.